Vegetable topper



' June 29, 1943. w. E. TENVBROO'K VEGETABLE TOPPER Filed April 6, 1942 m T 4 I W 4 3A 1 Willa/72E 7925mm? Patented June 29, 1943 VEGETABLE TOPPER William Eddie Tenbrook, Glenwood Springs,

Colo.

Application April 6, 1942, Serial No. 437,877

3 Claims. (01. 146146) such cutters rest fiat upon the table top, some little difficulty is encountered in keeping the vegetable table clean and tidy, since it is not convenient to wipe off the entire table top each time a cutter is used.

The present invention has for its principal object to provide an improved vegetable cutter or topper which is so constructed that it may be secured to a back wall for the table or to a support on the table and operated to cut off or'top the vegetables without having to lay the vegetables on the table, and the device is also so constructed that the table may be provided with a suitable opening through which the cut tops may drop directly from the cutter and as a consequence the vegetable table can be kept clean and may be easily and quickly wiped off when necessary since the cutter is supported entirely above the top of the table.

Another object of the invention is to provide a vegetable topper which is so constructed that the tops of a bunch of vegetables will be firmly held while a cutting knife is forced therethrough so that the tops will not slip out from under the edge of the knife but will be cut cleanly.

Still another object of the invention is to provide in a vegetable topper of the character stated, a novel means for holding down the tops of the vegetables while the knife is in operation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a vegetable topper which is so constructed that the operator is fully protected at all times against accidents.

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, it being understood, however, that the invention is not to be considered as limited by the specific illustration or description but that such illustration and description constitute a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of. the

vegetable topper comprising the present invention, showing the same mounted upon a table or counter top and showing the top of the table partly in section to show a discard or Waste hole therein through which the tops may be discharged.

Figure 2 is a view of the structure in front elevation.

Figure 3 is a horizontal section taken upon the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a view in side elevation corresponding to Figure 1, but showing the cutting knife thrown forwardly, as in a cutting operation.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, the numeral I generally designates a counter or table upon which the cutting device embodying the present invention is mounted and the top of this table or counter is indicated by the numeral 2 and is shown with a vegetable top discharge opening 3 through which the cut tops may be thrown or allowed to fall into a suitable receiver beneath the table.

The numeral 4 designates a back wall or partition for the table or counter, upon the face of which the topper or cutting device of the present invention is mounted.

The present vegetable topper comprises a body portion -5 which is in the form of a bar or plate of suitable length and width, to which the several parts of the topper device are secured, and this plate 5 is secured vertically to the face of the wall or partition 4 by screws 6 or in any other suitable manner so that the several elements of the topper are suitably placed with respect to the discharge opening 3.

One side edge of the body 5 carries adjacent the lower end thereof the pivot bolt or stud I which passes through an ear 8 which forms an integral edge extension at the bottom or lower end of the substantially triangular knife which is indicated as a whole by the numeral 9. This knife has a back edge In from the lower end of which the ear 8 extends, the'base edge I l and the obtuse edge 12 which is sharpened and forms the cutting edge for the knife. At the upper end or top of the knife a handle or knob 13 is secured by which the forward oscillation of the knife is facilitated.

The knife 9 when in inoperative position is disposed vertically, as shown in Figure 1, and there is secured to the face of the supporting body 5, by means of the flange H, the substantially triangular guard plate is which extends forwardly at right angles to the face of the body 5 and upon one side of which the knife 9 is disposed when in inoperative position with the cutting edge arranged inwardly of the forward edge of the shield l5 in the manner illustrated in Figure 1.

The numeral I6 generally designates the twopart or slotted supporting arm which cooperates with the blade in the cutting of the vegetable tops. This arm comprises two relatively long bar portions or members I! which extend upwardly and outwardly with respect to the lower portion of the body 5 and which, at: their lower ends, are obtusely angled to provide the horizontal portions it which .extend rearwardly and are secured to the adjacent side of the body 5 by a bolt 19 or in any other suitable manner.

These bar-like portions H are maintained in spaced parallel relation, as is best illustrated in Figure 3, so as to provide a recess or slot 20 in which the sharpened or cutting edge of the knife enters when the knife is oscillated forwardly in a cutting operation, as shown in Figure 4.

A bracing bar M is secured at one end to the lower part of the support l6, as shown in Figures 1 and 4, and has its other end secured to the body plate 5 at a substantial distance above the pivot for the knife.

At the bottom of the body plate 5 there is secured to the side edge upon which the knife is pivotally mounted a clamp bracket 22 to which is secured one end of the single relatively long wire spring 23, the other end of which is attached to the handle E3 of the knife. This wire spring, through its inherent tendency to straighten out to its full length, forces the handle end of the knife to swing upwardly so as to constantly urge the knife to oscillate to inoperative position, but when the knife is forcibly oscillated forwardly, as shown in Figure 4, the spring is longitudinally bowed a shown and is consequently put under tension so that when the knife is released it will swing the knife back to its upright inoperative position.

The portions ll of the vegetable top supporting unit it may be joined together at their outer ends so that they will be constantly maintained in proper spaced relation, and also the knife will be limited in its forward swinging movement.

As is best shown in Figure 1, the upwardly and outwardly extending portion of the support i6 forms, with the upwardly and rearwardly in.- clined edge of the cutting knife, when the latter is in inoperative position, a substantially V- shaped receiver in which the tops of the vegetables are laid or placed preparatory to' cutting. In order to hold the tops against a. tendency to slip upwardly and outwardly on the bars I! of'the support, there is provided the hold-down arm which is indicated generally by the numeral 24 and which comprises a bar of metal having the obtusely angled inner and outer portions 25 and 26, respectively. The free end of the inner por tion 25 is pivotally attached, as at 27, to-the side edge of the body plate 5 above the pivot I so that the outer angled portion 26 extends away from the body plate'5 when the arm is in raised position, as shown in Figure l, or when it is in down position, as shown in Figure 4.

The upswinging of the hold-down arm or bar 24 is effected by means of a pin 23 which is secured to the adjacent side face of the knife 9 and which slidably engages the under edge of the inner angled portion 25 of the bar, as shown in Figures 1 and 4. The position of this pin 28 is such that when the knife 9 is in vertical position it will force the arm or bar to-swing upwardly and. the outer angled portion thereof will extend outwardly across the cutting edge of the knife and will be raised a substantial distance above the bottom or crotch of the V-shaped receiver formed by the knife edge and the support Hi. When the vegetables are placed in position with their tops in the crotch of the V-shaped receiver and the knife is oscillated forwardly and downwardly it will be seen that the bar or arm 24 will be allowed to swing downwardly by gravity and the outer portion 26 will rest upon the tops of the vegetables and form a bridge across the crotch of the V and thus hold the vegetable tops down while the edge of the knife blade is being forced through them. As the knife finishes its cutting stroke the edge will enter between the portion 11 of the support, as shown in Figure 4, so that the operators hand will be entirely protected from the same and when the knife is allowed to return to inoperative or rest position it will be seen that the edge will be shielded so that the operators hand cannot come.

into contact therewith, this shielding being accomplished by the edge of the shield plate I5.

The tops, as they are severed from the vegetables, will fall through the opening 3 in the table top and due to the fact that the entire topping apparatus is supported above the surface of the table or counter, it will be readily apparent that the latter may be easily and quickly wiped off" and thus kept in a clean and attractive condition.

I claim:

1. A cutting device of the character stated, comprising a vertically disposed body, a material supporting member secured to the lower part of said body and extending forwardly and upwardly therefrom, an elongated knife pivotally secured to the supporting body adjacent the point of attachment of said member thereto, said knife being vertically disposed when in inoperative position and when in such position having a forwardly and downwardly inclined cutting edge forming with said member a substantially V-shaped material receiver, said knife when oscillated forwardly and downwardly having its cutting edge moved in coacting relation with said member for the cutting of material in the stated receiver, an elongated arm pivotally attached at one end to the supporting body and extending forwardly therefrom transversely of the cutting edge of the knife, and an operative coupling between the knife and said arm whereby the free end of the arm is maintainedv in raised position with respect to the bottom of said receiver, the arm swinging freely down wardly to extend across said receiver upon the downward swinging of the knife.

2. The combination with a table top, counter top or similar structure having a refuse discharge opening, of a vegetable topper comprising a vertically disposed supporting body adjacent said opening, a supporting arm secured at one end to said body adjacent the lower part thereof but spaced from the top of said structure and extending forwardly and upwardly with respect to the body, an elongated knife pivotally supported at one end on said body adjacent the lower end of the arm for oscillation from a vertical inoperative position forwardly and downwardly toward said supporting arm for severing the tops of vegetables disposed upon the supporting arm between the arm and the knife, said supporting arm comprising a pair of spaced parallel members forming a recess in which the cutting edge of the knife enters when swung forwardly and downwardly, and a vegetable top hold-down arm pivotally attached to the supporting body and operatively coupled with said knife to be maintained in raised inoperative position when the knife is in vertical position and to swing downwardly into hold-down relation with the vegetable tops upon the downward swinging of the knife.

3. The combination with a table top, counter top or similar structure having a refuse discharge opening, of a vegetable topper comprising a vertically disposed supporting body adjacent said opening, a supporting arm secured at one end to said body adjacent the lower part thereof but spaced from the top of said structure and extending forwardly and upwardly with respect to the body, an elongated knife pivotally supported at one end on said body adjacent the lower end of the arm for oscillation from a vertical inoperative position forwardly and downwardly toward said supporting arm for severing the tops of vegetables disposed upon the supporting arm between the arm and the knife, said supporting arm comprising a pair of spaced parallel members forming a. recess in which the cutting edge of the knife enters when swung forwardly and downwardly, a vegetable top holddown arm pivotally attached to the supporting body and operatively coupled with said knife to be maintained in raised inoperative position when the knife is in vertical position and to swing downwardly into hold-downrelation with the vegetable tops upon the downward swinging of the knife, and a spring member operatively coupling the knife with the supporting body and constantly urging oscillation of the knife to vertical position.

WILLIAM EDDIE TENBROOK. 

